Purdue University officials have dedicated Indiana’s first animal cancer treatment facility devoted to using radiation therapy to treat cancer in cats, dogs and other small animals.
The $2 million animal cancer treatment facility, which was dedicated Sept. 20, is part of the university’s School of Veterinary Medicine. It is named after Linda and William Fleischhauer, who donated half of the money for the building and equipment.
When fully-equipped, in addition to radiation equipment, the animal cancer treatment facility will have an animal holding area for up to nine small animals; a control area where veterinarians and veterinary technicians manage machinery operation; an induction-treatment area to prepare animals for medical procedures; and a film-developing room.
The veterinary school has treated about a dozen animals with radiation since the facility opened in late July. Purdue officials say they expect to treat about 140 animals a year.
The university’s veterinary school has treated small animals with chemotherapy since the late 1970s, but until now, patients who would benefit from radiation had been directed outside Indiana to schools in Illinois and Ohio.